Over 1,200 dead as ‘mass killing’ of Alawites continues despite Syrian leader’s call for peace - Sharaa's government urged to investigate targeted killings of hundreds of civilians in Alawite villages

Syria has suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in violence that has swept the coastal region since Thursday.

More than 1,000 people were killed after two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad erupt. View on euronews

The death toll from two days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 600, a war monitoring group said Saturday.

The killings occurred in the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, escalating after a nascent insurgency formed against the Sunni Islamist government.

A monitoring group says 973 civilians have been killed in revenge attacks against the Alawite sect since Thursday.

Syria's fragile transition from decades of Assad family brutal rule has been greatly shaken with an outburst of sectarian retribution and killings, posing a serious challenge to the new leadership led by Ahmad Sharaa.

Syria's interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country and promised to punish those responsible,

Syria's interim leader has appealed for unity, as violence and revenge killings continued in areas loyal to ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad on Sunday.Hundreds of people have reportedly fled their homes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus - strongholds of Assad support.

Assad's régime in Syria, the new government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, have drawn international condemnation for a four day spiral of violence in the regions of Latakia and Tartus. When a group of gunmen loyal to Assad ambushed Syrian security forces,